Wife had a massive heart attack

Thoughts and prayers to you and your family and for a full and speedy recovery.
 
Yikes. Sorry to hear that. What is it like for you all? I'm assuming this is being done while she's admitted to the hospital. Are you allowed to be with her?

I'm not sure how old your wife is, but a lot of women have heart issues after menopause. In men, as our arteries slowly get clogged throughout our life, we can build new vessels in the heart, called collateral circulation, that acts like extra plumbing to allow blood to get around a clog. But there's something about estrogen that protects the heart, even if the arteries are getting clogged, so the body doesn't build the extra pipes. Once they stop making estrogen after menopause, they lose that protection pretty rapidly and can have heart attacks that seem to come from left field.
 
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No. Out of the blue.
Prayers.

Is her heart at 50% or EF (ejection fraction) of 50%?

I had a heart attack in January, completely out of the blue. I'm 36, no symptoms or risk factors, no cholesterol issues, blood pressure normal and as a runner I have no problem maxing out stress tests. I had a 100% blockage in 1 artery and no blockages at all in any other arteries. My EF was 45%, but now it's 50% after a few months, which is low of normal ie 50-70%. So if it's EF 50 that's pretty good after the heart attack, because it will improve.

On a slightly other note, there are some reports of COVID-19 affecting some part of the heart that can cause blood clots in the arteries without the normal respiratory symptoms. Of course with a sick father and the pandemic coverage, many probably are running higher than normal blood pressure.
 
Prayers.

Is her heart at 50% or EF (ejection fraction) of 50%?

I had a heart attack in January, completely out of the blue. I'm 36, no symptoms or risk factors, no cholesterol issues, blood pressure normal and as a runner I have no problem maxing out stress tests. I had a 100% blockage in 1 artery and no blockages at all in any other arteries. My EF was 45%, but now it's 50% after a few months, which is low of normal ie 50-70%. So if it's EF 50 that's pretty good after the heart attack, because it will improve.

On a slightly other note, there are some reports of COVID-19 affecting some part of the heart that can cause blood clots in the arteries without the normal respiratory symptoms. Of course with a sick father and the pandemic coverage, many probably are running higher than normal blood pressure.

I don't know to be honest. ABout her 50% thing. But she is complaining of not being able to breath. Doctors said it was fluid build up from the heart attack. But now I'm worried about COVID19. Have a call into the dr.
 
Yikes. Sorry to hear that. What is it like for you all? I'm assuming this is being done while she's admitted to the hospital. Are you allowed to be with her?

I'm not sure how old your wife is, but a lot of women have heart issues after menopause. In men, as our arteries slowly get clogged throughout our life, we can build new vessels in the heart, called collateral circulation, that acts like extra plumbing to allow blood to get around a clog. But there's something about estrogen that protects the heart, even if the arteries are getting clogged, so the body doesn't build the extra pipes. Once they stop making estrogen after menopause, they lose that protection pretty rapidly and can have heart attacks that seem to come from left field.

No. We aren't even allowed to enter the hospital. We talk on the phone. Barely as she can't breath well. And facetime'd once with my son from the hospital parking lot.

She went thru menopause years ago. From a hysterectomy.
 
I don't know to be honest. ABout her 50% thing. But she is complaining of not being able to breath. Doctors said it was fluid build up from the heart attack. But now I'm worried about COVID19. Have a call into the dr.
Keep up your faith my friend. It's going to be okay.
 
The fluid on the heart sounds very common for the breathing. Also when you think about not breathing you can trick yourself into having trouble breathing. They mentioned it so much to me and there wasn't a pandemic all over the news, but as I would go to sleep I would try to think about not being able to breath and then I'd have trouble falling asleep, thinking I'd stop breathing when I went to sleep. It wasn't rational, but when something springs up like that, it's like stepping on a landmine and you are worried about the next landmine.

The only thing I ever heard with a % was EF, and though that's not great, I got 5% back and that would actually put her in the more normal range and remember the max is 70%. At cardiac rehab, I'm with a lot of people that came back from single digit EFs. An old guy beside me in the cardiac unit was in his 80s and barely sat down while he was there and he had issues with fluid on his heart, but he had had it for awhile and had an enlarged heart.

Good luck, be patient and relax as much as possible. Recovery is a marathon.
 
They're putting in a defibrillator today. So her white blood cell count must have come down. Will confirm with dr later today. Still somewhat hard breathing. She could be home by Friday. Gotta get a hospital bed. And some form of home healthcare.
 
Sounds like good news, one step at a time....hang in there! We are all thinking about you guys.